Fitting in

We were living in Utah, and backpacks with wheels were the thing. Every kid had one, and if they didn’t…they wanted one. It was high on my daughter’s wishes for Christmas in 2010.

Her face glowed as she opened this most-anticipated bag. She could hardly wait to go back to school and show it off. She was going to fit in perfectly. This is where things got a little complicated. We were moving far away—out of the school district, out the the city, out of the whole state.

We left a couple days after Christmas and arrived in our new home in Texas in 2011. Still excited, my daughter packed her new backpack, got out of the car, and rolled her bag into her new school.

Her excitement faded. Fast.

She DID NOT fit in.

Rolling backpacks were all the rage in Utah, but not in Texas. 😩 She was teased relentlessly, kids making fun of her for bringing “luggage” to school.

Whoops.

This is the problem with fitting in. Trends change quickly, like the wind. What comes in always goes out. So you can spend your time seeking the latest and greatest, desperate to fit in, turning this way and that way…but at what cost? When you chase the ever-changing winds, you lose your solid ground. And probably feel dizzy.

That’s it.

There is another option. You can choose to be confident in your own beliefs and convictions. You don’t have to be blown every way by the winds. You can be friends with people without fitting in. It IS possible. Truthfully, this is hard to do when you are a teenager. I currently have a house full of them, and it can be hard. However, hard things become easier when we PRACTICE.

If kids and teenagers only see the same fitting in desperation modeled by the adults in their life, the wind-tossing will continue. And that will create a lot of floundering, confused, and dizzy people.

You do not need to fit in.

We are all unique. That’s a good thing, not a handicap! Make choices about what you love, believe, and value, and live with integrity. Don’t pretend. Don’t shrink because you are afraid of being different. Practice having your own back.

The winds blow hard around here.